Monday, 16 September 2013

Keep the Faith in Syria

By John Pontifex - Aid to the Church In Need

A SYRIAN
prelate – ordained a bishop only last month – has spoken of his dismay at the
country’s mass exodus of Christians but is convinced that the future of one of
the world’s oldest Church communities is assured.

Melkite Greek
Catholic Bishop Nicolas Antiba of Bosra and Hauran described how his faithful in
southern Syria were fleeing in their hundreds
to the area around his bishop’s house in Khabab following attacks which included
the destruction of reportedly one of the country’s oldest churches dating back
to the 6th century.

Referring to
the attack on the 542AD St Elias’ Church, in Izraa, he said the exodus of
Christians from Syria risked
becoming as bad as in Iraq where most faithful left their
homes.

Bishop Antiba
stressed the urgent need for help both for displaced people arriving in Khabab
and elsewhere, including food and shelter – a problem which will become more
acute as the weather worsens.

In comments
echoing those last month by Melkite Patriarch Gregorios III, who ordained him
bishop on 25th August 2013, the 67-year-old said the crisis is being
exacerbated by the influx of fighters and weapons from abroad, which for Bishop
Antiba are like “a cancer” threatening to destroy the
country.

Bishop Antiba
went on to reiterate calls for an end to plans for foreign military intervention
in Syria, saying that his message to
President Barack Obama is “leave us alone”.

Amid reports
that up to a third of the country’s Christian population is now internally
displaced or living as refugees abroad, Bishop Antiba said: “I believe – I know
– that persecution will not destroy the Church.

“The blood of
the martyrs gives new life to the Church.

“I have the
hope that we will continue to live here as Christians. Yes, we will be fewer in
number – just look what happened in Iraq – but I don’t think the country
will be left without Christians.”

He was
speaking after attacks earlier this month on the ancient Christian town of
Maloula which
was attacked and occupied by Jihadi groups.

Christians
fleeing the town spoke of direct attacks on Christians and reports emerged that
the fighters wanted “victory over the infidel”.

Earlier,
Patriarch Gregorios told ACN that 450,000 Christians in Syria –
nearly a third of the total – had fled their homes.

Bishop Antiba
said: “Christians are a peaceful people. They do not fight, especially in
Syria where we have been living with
tranquillity without any problems.

“We are the
people who have no way to fight. Instead we are a peaceful people who are the
first ones who are attacked...

“Christians
have suffered very greatly. We are still suffering. It is not
easy.”

He reiterated
calls for the US and its allies to abandon options
favouring a military strike.

The bishop
said: “I hope that [the US and its allies] will leave us
alone. If arms continue to come into the country, the situation will get worse.
It is not Syrians who are fighting Syrians – those involved in the fighting are
non-Syrians.”

He said:
“Instead of bringing arms into our country, bring peace. Arms are like a cancer
– a foreign body that threatens to destroy us.”

Calling on
the US to keep out of Syrian politics, he
said: “I would say to President Obama, you always talk about peace… please leave
us alone and put these ideas of peace into
practice.

“You have
your own idea of democracy and it is beautiful but it is not necessarily our
idea of democracy; let us work out our own idea of democracy.”

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